Good News At Last For Foxconn Staff
February 17, 2012
I know what you're thinking, "Oh no, not another story about Foxconn!" I'm afraid so, but this time there seems to be a little brighter news for our friends in China.
The company has recently released a statement indicating that they are set to raise the pay for some of their Chinese workforce. The timing of this announcement seems a little too convenient, coming so hot on the heels of Monday's announcement from Apple that they had requested that the Fair Labor Association (FLA) pay the factories a visit.
The base pay for junior level workers in the Shenzhen based factories is currently 1,800 yuan ($290) per month and, if the worker passes a technical examination, it will be raised to 2,200 yuan. Three years ago the base pay was just 900 yuan per month.
Foxconn issued this statement:
As a top manufacturing company in China, the basic salary of junior workers in all of Foxconn's China factories is already far higher than the minimum wage set by all local governments. We will provide more training opportunities and learning time, and will continuously enhance technology, efficiency and salary, so as to set a good example for the Chinese manufacturing industry.The pay raise comes after a previous increase in June 2010, following a spate of highly publicized suicides by some of the younger members of the company's workforce. While the wages may seem low to many readers, they are actually considered quite good compared to many other entry-level jobs in China; this pay increase will no doubt be very welcome. Are you concerned about life within the factories? Or is it more: out of sight, out of mind?
